Call for the next Secretary General of JEF Europe for the mandate of 2024-2026 / Rolling basis

JEF Europe is an independent, transnational, political youth organisation with over 10,000  members in more than 35 national sections. The goal of JEF is the creation of a democratic European federation as a crucial ingredient for peace, a guarantee for a more free, just and democratic society and a first step towards a world federation. More information can be found here.

As appointed officer and legal representative, the Secretary General works full-time for the organisation at the European Secretariat in Brussels and is responsible, under the oversight of the Executive Board, for:

  • Human resources and team management of the European Secretariat (8-10 people)
  • Fundraising, partnership development and communication with a diverse range of donors
  • Project writing, planning, implementation and reporting
  • External representation (European Institutions, NGOs, etc.);
  • Organisation of statutory meetings and liaising with member sections;
  • Financial management of the organisation (together with the Treasurer).

The Secretary General should have:

  • understanding of and interest in European politics and affairs;
  • extensive experience in NGO work, ideally on a European level and/or in JEF;
  • extensive experience in project management, especially in projects on the European level;
  • experience with institutional fundraising, especially with EU institutions and the Council of Europe;
  • experience with and/or motivation to work on diversification of funding;
  • excellent language skills; fluency in English is a precondition, any other European languages and especially French and/or Dutch is considered a strong asset;
  • excellent communication and presentation skills;
  • experience with financial management and bookkeeping;
  • excellent knowledge of MS/OpenOffice and online communications (collaborative tools, social media);
  • experience with human resources management and team management as well as leadership skills;
  • ability to work independently and  to manage different competing priorities and responsibilities;
  • ability to work with, engage with and create synergies with a wide range of stakeholders;
  • ability to work with and reporting to a young, democratic and volunteer-led Board, and to collaborate with a Europe-wide network of young volunteers;
  • the willingness to undertake frequent travels;
  • the sensibility to work in a multilingual and multicultural environment
  • strong commitment to non-discrimination and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion.

The applicant should show flexibility (working 8+ weekends/year and work in the evenings outside of office hours as necessary), initiative, personal commitment and motivation to support the activities promoted by the organisation. JEF Europe offers an interesting position in an international environment and a high degree of independence in day-to-day work. JEF Europe will issue a work contract under Belgian law, limited for 2 years, including a trial period of 4 months, starting in June 2024 (exact date to be defined based on the availability of the candidate).

Salary conditions are to be agreed upon depending on experience and include additional benefits, e.g. Private health insurance, Travel per diems, 13th salary and bonus for summer holidays

 The Secretary General is entitled to 20 days of holidays as well as time off in lieu as compensation for work during weekends.

Application procedure:

The application procedure will consist of 2 rounds.

In the first round, the applicant is requested to send their CV, motivation letter (in pdf). as well as to share a project proposal including a budget as a single PDF document (A4 – 3 pages maximum in total) on a topic – matching the priorities of JEF Europe and its work with sections.

In addition, recommendation letters are welcome.

In the next round, candidates will be notified within a week  and invited by the Executive Board for an interview taking place in Brussels. If needed, for those candidates based outside of Brussels, JEF Europe can offer a contribution to cover the costs of travel to the interview.

The final approval of the successful candidate in the interview stage will be taken by the Federal Committee (FC) of JEF Europe (the Secretary General is appointed by the FC upon recommendation of the Executive Board according to the Statutes), at an online dedicated meeting.

Deadline for applications: rolling basis

Please send your application in English by e-mail to the Executive Board of JEF Europe (eb@jef.eu). In the title, indicate “ Application for Secretary General of JEF Europe”.

Any questions should be addressed to the current Secretary-General – Judit Lantai – at judit.lantai@jef.eu.